‘M’ pitches two shutouts By TYLER COADY Daily Sports Writer The No. 2 Michigan softball team scored one run against Illinois State on Saturday. Considering that the team averages in excess of eight runs per game, it was a paltry amount for the free-scoring Wolverines. Michigan (20-2) tallied seven hits, but left 10 runners on base. Senior centerfielder Sierra Lawrence registered another multi-hit game, but no other Wolverine matched her. While the offensive performance was lacking, Megan Betsa chalked up another story in the circle as she recorded her finest performance of the season to ensure a 1-0 Wolverine win over Illinois State (8-17) as she gave up only three hits. “Leaving runners on base is a concern,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. “But there are days when our pitching staff picks up our hitting staff.” Last week, Betsa spoke about her frustrations with her recent lack of command over the zone, as she was struggling to get out of innings. “I was throwing too many walks and I was getting behind in the count,” Betsa said. “I focused in practice on being able to get ahead of the hitters.” Betsa refocused and honed her command against the Redbirds, as she did not give up a single run while racking up 11 strikeouts. “It really started in practice this week as we set up a (strike zone net) so I could focus on hitting the zone and going through my process,” Betsa said. While Betsa reasserted her spot as Michigan’s go-to pitcher, the Wolverine hitters put up their second-lowest output of the season. Lawrence kept up her torrid pace at the leadoff spot, but the rest of the Michigan lineup failed to follow suit. Sophomore first baseman Tera Blanco and junior left fielder Kelly Christner were both held hitless, the first time that has happened in a game this season. Senior second baseman Sierra Romero had an unusually quiet day, recording only one hit. Despite the struggles, senior right fielder Kelsey Susalla provided the timely hitting that Michigan needed. Lawrence singled to start the third inning and made her way to third base quickly, courtesy of Romero reaching first on an error. Then, Susalla hit a sacrifice fly to center field, giving the Wolverines the only run they needed on Betsa’s big day. Next for Michigan was a matchup with Dayton (7-10). The offensive problems of Saturday morning quickly subsided as the trio of Lawrence, junior shortstop Abby Ramirez and Romero put the Wolverines on the board in the first inning. In the second inning, Christner reached base with a bunt, Sobczak roped a single up the middle and senior pinch runner Olivia Richvalsky and Christner scored. With a 3-0 lead after two innings, Michigan added to it in the fourth as the bottom of the lineup found its swing. After going hitless against Illinois State, both sophomore first baseman Aidan Falk and freshman infielder Faith Canfield notched hits and scored, increasing the Wolverine lead to five. Good pitching was not confined to just Betsa, however, as Blanco also put up her most dominant performance of the season. Struggling early in the season after transitioning back to a pitching role from predominantly playing first base last season, Blanco seemed to put it all together against the Flyers. Like Betsa, Blanco did not give up a single walk and went the full seven innings. Blanco, who is hitting a staggering .426, added to the lead in the seventh inning as she ripped a single into right field that made it 6-0. “It is not that difficult doing both hitting and pitching,” Blanco said of pulling double duty. “At times, I do not get all the cuts everyone else gets as I have to rush around but it really is not too hard.” With a home game against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Michigan is ready to take the field for the first time in Ann Arbor this season. It has been a long 22-game stretch on the road, but indeed a fruitful one that has seen the Wolverines cement their place at No. 2 in the rankings. “This season is a long journey and it evolves,” Hutchins said. “I feel that our team has really come together, but (they) need to just enjoy themselves.” BASEBALL WOMEN’S TENNIS Wolverines start slow at Virginia Despite wins in top two singles matches, Michigan falls to Cavaliers By MIKE PERSAK Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women’s tennis team was unable to overcome a slow start to its match with No. 10 Virginia on Saturday, losing 4-2. The sixth-ranked Wolverines’ loss was their third of the season and their second straight after dropping their previous match to unranked Texas. The Wolverines (7-4 overall) lost the doubles point as well as the No. 3 singles point to fall into a 2-0 hole. However, their No. 1 and No. 2 singles competitors, freshman Brienne Minor and senior Ronit Yurovsky, were able to even the match at two. That was all of the momentum that Michigan would be able to attain, though. Virginia took the next two matches in the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions in a pair of three set matches, pulling away for a 4-2 win. “I think we got a really slow start from doubles,” said Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein. “But I’m kind of proud of the way we hung in there and tried to turn that match around. We had chances there at the end.” Michigan’s lineup was also different than usual. Yurovsky, who normally competes in the No. 1 singles position, was switched with Minor, who normally competes at No. 2, in order to create a more favorable matchup. “I kinda liked (the matchups). I know how those (Virginia) kids play.” Bernstein said. “I just thought that switching it up would work out, and they made me look good.” The Wolverines were also without freshman Kate Fahey, who suffered an injury on Friday, the day before the Virginia match. Fahey, who is ranked 118th nationally in singles competition, brings some stability to the Michigan lineup — something the team needed desperately on Saturday. “If we’re healthy, I think that we’re pretty tough to beat.” Bernstein said. “(I’m) really proud of the way we competed (Saturday) with Kate out.” The Wolverines will look to get healthy and back on their feet this week. They begin conference play in East Lansing against Michigan State on Saturday in hopes of defending their Big Ten Championship from last year. But as they head into the tail end of their season, their mindset won’t change at all. “We just need to keep getting better,” Bernstein said. “Nothing’s really going to change. We’re just going to compete and try to figure it out and work hard this week, and try to get a win on Saturday.” If Michigan is able to retain its full lineup, with everybody healthy, perhaps the slow starts that have plagued it can be cured. If that’s the case, the Wolverines may be able to return to their winning ways. Freshmen make the difference Schalet, Tishman, Tekavec take advantage of rare opportunity for ‘M’ By MAGGIE KOLCON For the Daily The Michigan men’s tennis team’s Saturday doubleheader against Columbia and Toledo opened up opportunities for its younger players, and they took full advantage of them. Freshmen Myles Schalet, Gabe Tishman and Maks Tekavec proved themselves with singles wins for the Wolverines in the 5-2 victory against the Rockets. Tekavec, who hails from Slovenia, won his first singles match in a Michigan jersey. “Maks’ first win, it’s always awesome to see,” said Michigan head coach Adam Steinberg. “You know, he’s had it tough. He had surgery in December, and he’s been trying to get back. He’s had some setbacks, so I was just happy he was playing.” Tekavec earned his 6-3, 6-3 win in the No. 5 singles match. “We just put them in how we felt they should be,” Steinberg said. “We tried to push Maks a little bit and say, ‘Hey, you’re going to play a little bit higher.’ ” Schalet won 6-2, 6-1, in the No. 4 singles match against Toledo, adding to his earlier 6-2, 7-5 win in the No. 6 singles match against the Lions. His wins were crucial in meets where Michigan’s top players faltered. Redshirt sophomore Alex Knight, who holds the Wolverines’ highest singles win percentage this year, lost both of his No. 1 singles matches, while sophomore Carter Lin had to retire against Toledo in the No. 2 match due to an apparent injury. “Tennis-wise, I still want to work on my serve,” Schalet said. “I mean, every shot, I can still improve. But the most important thing is that we’ve done a great job and we’re getting better.” Tishman rounded out the Toledo match with a 6-2, 6-2 win, making his mark on the match as well. In the morning meet, Schalet and Tishman teamed up to win their doubles match together against Columbia. Later in the day, they held a commanding lead against the Rockets, but the match went unfinished after their teammates on the first and third courts won just before they wrapped up. Even though this is their first year at Michigan, Schalet and Tishman have a history of dominating the court together. “Before we came to college, we played for about three years together in juniors,” Tishman said. “Every national open we played, we got some pretty good results. I think we got up to No. 2 in the country at one point. So we’ve been playing for a while.” Coming from playing junior tennis, freshmen have to make the switch from focusing on their own individual rankings to playing as a team. Frequently in college tennis, one matchup will go unfinished in every meet because the team has already won, so the final singles or doubles match doesn’t matter. “College is much more intense,” Schalet said. “Because you’re playing for your team, and it’s a different atmosphere.” That atmosphere is very team-centric. After almost every point, players would look over to their teammates on a different court and shout words of encouragement. But, to the Wolverines, there is still room for improvement. “I think we just need to work on our team dynamics, really,” Tishman said. “Our coach really enforces this sort of team play, supporting everyone, and that’s just a big transition from juniors, where we’re playing for ourselves. We did a great job of that today and this morning, so we just have to keep that going.” Added Schalet: “Everyone needs to still improve at playing for each other and connecting (with their teammates). It’s really tough against really good teams, and that’s where we’re going to make a big jump in the next couple weeks.” While the freshmen admit that there are definitely things to improve upon, they proved they can rise to the occasion when their upperclassmen falter. And on their path to development, that was still certainly a step in the right direction. Starting pitching propels Michigan By NATHANIEL CLARK Daily Sports Writer Coming into its series against Hawaii, the Michigan baseball team had a cumulative earned- run average of 1.44 — the fourth- lowest in the country. The 18th-ranked Wolverines continued their dominance on the mound against the Rainbow Warriors this weekend. The starters pitched especially well for Michigan, surrendering a combined four earned runs during Michigan’s four-game sweep. The Wolverines’ team ERA now stands firm at 1.83 — holding their spot of fourth in the nation. “The thing that continues to impress me and the thing that I’m excited about the most with this group, and that’s the character, the makeup, the intangible skill set that this team has,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. Junior left-hander Brett Adcock earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors with his performance in Michigan’s 6-5 victory Friday. He threw seven innings, gave up two hits and one run, walked two and struck out 12 — a career high for him. In spite of Adcock’s dominant outing, he was not awarded the win as the Rainbow Warriors scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into an extra frame. But junior designated hitter Harrison Wenson came through in the top of the 10th with a single to drive in the winning run for the Wolverines. “Brett Adcock was commanding his fastball down in the zone on both sides of the plate,” Bakich said. “When you command your fastball down in the zone and you can manipulate the ball on both sides of the plate and the velocity is 92, 93, 94, it doesn’t matter who your are as a hitter. That’s tough.” Adcock agreed with Bakich’s assessment. “I tried to attack the zone, let the defense work and let the guys behind me make plays,” Adcock said. “You have to trust your defense and let them work.” Not to be outdone, sophomore left-hander Oliver Jaskie turned in a gem in Michigan’s 6-0 win Thursday. He pitched 5.1 shutout innings, allowed three hits, walked three and struck out three. “Everyone who goes out (to the mound) seems to do a very good job of attacking the strike zone with multiple pitches,” Bakich said. The Wolverines’ defense — which struggled at times during its Spring Break trip to California — was not perfect, but performed better against Hawaii. Though Michigan committed three errors in the first contest of Saturday’s doubleheader, it was a different story in Friday’s game. In the bottom of the ninth, following a wild pitch by right- hander Bryan Pall, sophomore catcher Drew Lugbauer made a strong throw to Pall to tag a runner out and prevent Hawaii from winning the game. “The errors we made were aggressive,” Bakich said. “I was very pleased with our defense, I thought we played outstanding defense. We had an error on a pickoff throw, I don’t feel like those errors affected the outcome of the game. I feel good about our defense. I feel like we’ve got a very good defensive team, even though the fielding percentage may not accurately reflect how good the defense is.” MICHIGAN VIRGINIA 2 4 “If we’re healthy, I think that we’re pretty tough to beat.” SAMII STOLOFF/Daily Freshman Myles Schalet earned singles and doubles wins against both Toledo and Columbia on Saturday. “We just put them in how we felt they should be.” AMANDA ALLEN/Daily Junior right-hander Megan Betsa pitched a three-hit shutout against Illinois State on Saturday in Louisville, Ky. Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Tuesday, March 15, 2016 — 7